Out of the Darkness
by Atlantima
Summary: After being ejected from the Void by Daud, the Outsider starts a new life as a human, with his dear Corvo helping. (This fic will ignore or alter almost everything from DOTO!)
1. Chapter 1

He gasped, a sudden heat burning all over him, inside and out. What was this heat? Oh, it was the very _air_ , the air was so _warm_ , he couldn't stand it, and there were prickling little blades folded between his naked body and the ground. Oh no, he was naked, why was he naked, why was he naked and hot and uncomfortable and surrounded by noises, what happened, why couldn't he Blink away or fix his outfit or do _anything_?

 _Daud!_

The memory rushed in all at once, filling his head, even more overstimulation. It was only two moments ago, that vicious fight, Daud with his wondrous powers turned against the very one who'd granted them, Daud the stupid bastard, oh it was such a mistake to ever Mark him-

Someone started jostling his shoulder, and he still couldn't Blink away, and the air was still so warm, and the blades were still itching his skin. He turned his head up and there was a bright light but a man's head was blocking it partially.

The man was talking to him, his voice soft but growing frantic. "-hear me? What happened?"

Squinting against the bright hot light, he recognized this man. "Corvo," he breathed out, feeling the name tangibly rise up through his throat and leave his lips on the strange hot air.

Upon hearing that voice, an ineffable look came over Corvo's face. "Oh- by the Void," he said, softer but more frantic. "Are you really- _Outsider_?"

"Do you- not rec- recognize me?" The sentence came out brokenly; he was relearning how to breathe.

Corvo knelt down as the Outsider sat up. "You- you look a bit different. Your clothes, your eyes, your... body. What happened?"

"It was Daud." The Outsider sounded choked up.

"Daud," Corvo said, with confusion and some venom.

"He-" The details of the conflict were fuzzy, unclear, a mess in his mind. "He attacked me. Ousted me from my domain." The blades under his body were grass; a short-clipped lawn; the grounds of Dunwall Tower. He combed his fingers through the green wet with dew.

"Ousted you? How- Never mind. Tell me all about it later." Corvo took off his outer jacket and put it around the shivering pale figure.

The Outsider pulled his attention away from the grass to look at Corvo again. "What's-"

"Please, we should get inside, before more people see you. Can you stand?"

"I believe so." Legs wobbling, he managed to rise, the long flaps of Corvo's jacket somewhat hiding his bare body.

Corvo put his arm around the Outsider's torso and started helping him walk, for it was something he hadn't done in the Void, hadn't needed to do, not in thousands of years. Close to where they'd started, the Outsider shuddered and fell once, onto hands and knees. He mutely accepted Corvo's hand to help him back up and back on their way.

"Will you be here long?" Corvo asked uncertainly.

"If I could return, I would have already done so," the Outsider said sourly.

The grass still itched his feet, and the air was still warm. _Everything_ was warm here. It didn't feel like it had on his brief previous visits to the human world. Even the Outsider's body itself felt warm, pulsing- oh, he had blood now, blood in his veins and air in his chest and dirt on his knees- oh, he was... human.

"The guard patrol will be coming along soon," Corvo said. "I cannot simply hide you away. What should we tell them?"

"I'm human," the Outsider said, his words scarcely more than a breath.

"Well I wasn't about to tell them who you really are, but we need a more specific story than-"

He cut in, "No, I'm human," and punctuated it by squeezing onto one of Corvo's arms. "I- I am human." He was both frightened and intrigued.

Corvo turned his head and looked again at the slightly smaller man- if man he truly was now, not god. "Daud? Daud turned you human?" Even to Corvo who wasn't an Abbey follower by any means, it seemed almost sacrilege that the Master of the Void could be made mortal.

"He- he meant to kill me but-" The Outsider couldn't finish the sentence, couldn't put together any more words. Frightened and intrigued, and still overstimulated by his body's warmth and the sun's light and the grass' texture. He buried his face in Corvo's side, hiding in the familiar smell of him.

"Are you all right?" Corvo asked, stopping their walk for a moment.

"I don't know." He breathed in, purposely this time, fueling his fresh body with Corvo's scent. "Yes. I think so." He looked back up at the man. "What's different about my eyes?"

Corvo blinked, a little thrown by the ala carte question. "They're... not black anymore."

"Oh? Curious." The Outsider pulled Corvo to start walking again, on the cobblestone path now, away from the odious grass blades. "Come. I'd like to look in a mirror."

"Careful, you're... showing," Corvo said, nearly stumbling over the word. He rushed to stand in front of the Outsider, and did his best to more firmly close the long jacket over his front. "It will be hard enough to explain a sudden guest in the tower, let alone one who's hardly wearing anything."

The Outsider laughed a small small laugh. "I am glad the Void spat me out near to you and not anywhere else, dear Corvo."


	2. Chapter 2

The door to the Empress' private study was ajar, and Corvo knocked. "Emily? Can we talk? Something's happened."

"Yes Father?" she answered, rising from her desk and going to meet him in the doorway. "Oh." She took pause at the sight of the person accompanying him.

"He appeared on the grounds while I was taking my morning walk," Corvo said.

"Hello, Empress," the person said, waving slightly with a long-fingered hand. "I did not think we would meet again like this."

She thought she recognized that voice, with its slight underlying rasp. And the unstyled flat mop of dark brown hair seemed familiar too. She thought so, but she wasn't entirely sure. He wore a dim blue-and-gray outfit that she knew had definitely been taken from Corvo's own closet, and it hung loosely off of his too-small frame. "I'm sorry, I don't recall your name, sir," she said politely, choosing not to comment on the borrowed clothes.

The man let out a short breathy laugh. "Oh Empress, I don't recall my name either; too many centuries have passed since it last saw use."

Corvo put fingertips to the side of his forehead. "I'm surprised you can laugh about your situation," he said to the man. Then he exhaled and lowered his hand. "Well, Emily," he said, in a voice soft and serious, "this is the Outsider."

Mind racing, Emily looked the pale man over again.

"You know your father would not lie to you," he said.

She was stricken with astonishment. Now that Corvo had informed her, he was actually quite recognizable, even though his voice no longer had the haunting half-echo, and his eyes no longer were the solid glossy black, and his body no longer had the leanness of perpetual adolescence. "You've changed."

"Into a human," he said without missing a beat.

She ushered them into her study and closed the door. "What's behind this change?" she asked, leaning against the wall and folding her arms.

With a bit of a scowl now, Corvo answered, "Daud's returned to being an assassin, with our friend here his latest target."

"Although this time he was not working for coin," the Outsider said, gracelessly seating himself in an armchair. "It was of his own volition that he sought a way to kill me." As he spoke, his gaze floated and jagged around the room, rather than looking fixedly at either of the people there. It seemed reminiscent of how he'd used to Blink about when conversing in the Void. "At the end, everything dissolved around me," he continued coolly, "and then by some means, I found myself removed from the Void and remade into this form."

"How could you allow him to do that?" Corvo asked, gripping the back of the armchair. "Didn't you know what he was planning?"

The Outsider tilted his head back to smirk up at him. "Dear Corvo, you know it is not in my nature to interfere."

"Excuse me, you interfere a lot," Emily said sharply, pointing to her covered left hand.

"What my Marked choose to do with the gift is their own decision. There are some who would never dare use it at all, but they are not interesting enough to ever receive it, of course. I only wish to watch what unfolds by their actions." He began to kick his legs back and forth experimentally, watching them swing. "It was fascinating to watch Daud on his quest to take me down. Many humans have wanted to, but never a Marked."

"Well, I am glad that he did not entirely succeed," Corvo said, a soft smile starting to break over his face.

"So now what?" Emily asked, directing the question at Corvo mostly.

"I think it's best he stay at Dunwall Tower, at least for a while," Corvo answered her. In truth he would accept nothing else, and no other option he could think of even made sense. The Abbey had shelters for the homeless and destitute, but their conditions were widely known to be less than hospitable, and they would certainly react badly if they ever found out whom they were housing. And some friends of the Empress eschewed the Abbey's doctrines, yes, but that did not equate to meaning they would happily caretake the Outsider, even his human version.

Emily sighed and headed back towards her desk. "All right, Father, but you are in charge of him; I have enough on my plate with the Morleyan delegation coming in two days' time." She fell into her wooden swivel chair and returned to leafing through a stack of correspondence and requests.

Corvo beamed at the Outsider and helped him up from the armchair. "I think you'll find it interesting being human."

And the Outsider smiled back.


	3. Tyvian Pears

It was Corvo who thought up a pseudonym, taking half of the letters from "Outsider" to form "Ouri", which he thought sounded suitably foreign, yet not implausible as a name.

"Ouri," he repeated, looking up from the scratch paper he'd been brainstorming on. "Does that work for you?"

"Oor-ee," the Outsider echoed slowly. "Where am I meant to be from?"

Corvo exhaled through his nose and thought a moment. "You look sort of Tyvian. Want to go with that?"

"I do not care." The Outsider swiveled his chair idly. "I'm not one for making decisions."

"All right. So you're a nobleman visiting from Tyvia." Corvo jotted a bullet point down.

"A nobleman." The Outsider laughed. "I might or might not have been from Tyvia, but I remember I was the very opposite of a nobleman."

"That doesn't matter. You've got a new chance here."

The Outsider laughed again, seemingly in agreement.

Corvo looked back down at his paper. "So, need you a Tyvian family name. Urhm..." He tapped his pen a few times at the blank space after _Ouri_. "Taikov? ...Aigon? ...Dostev? Call out when I hit on something you like."

"I truly don't care, Corvo," the Outsider reiterated. "Taikov is fine."

"All right then. _Ouri Taikov_."

The Outsider's expression changed suddenly and he pushed himself up from the chair.

Corvo was instantly alert, hand dropping the pen and going to his sword, eyes scanning the windows. "What is it?"

"I... I think I am hungry."

Corvo relaxed and allowed himself a chuckle. "Then I'll be a good host and feed you, Lord Taikov." They began to leave his study, but at the last moment Corvo stopped at his globe and floated his finger over the various cities in Tyvia. "If anyone asks specifics, you lived in... uh..." He poked a city near the north of the island. "Pradym, why not."

"A small and boring landlocked place," the Outsider said. "Meya has more life in it."

Corvo moved his finger a couple inches to the left and tapped that city instead. "All right, you were from Meya." He smiled at the Outsider, pleased that he had finally expressed some initiative on his new life. 

* * *

"Lord Protector!" one of the kitchen maids called out when she saw them approaching down the hall. "You weren't at breakfast! I worried."

"I am fine, Alys; I was engaged with our visitor here." He spread out one hand toward the Outsider. "This is the Baron Ouri Taikov, here on business from Tyvia."

Alys turned to face him and bowed shortly. "I hope you are finding Dunwall to your liking, your Lordship."

"It's a lovely city," the Outsider said. "I may be staying quite a while."

Smiling, Corvo nodded. "So, like you noticed, Alys, we were not at breakfast, and our guest is quite hungry after his long trip here."

She also nodded. "I'll summon the chefs back to prepare a brunch. Would you like anything in particular?"

At the question, the Outsider looked blank, his gaze wandering up to Alys' hair, twisted in a neat bun. After some seconds, Corvo was about to speak up a suggestion, but then the Outsider decided. "Fruit. Something with fruit."

"A fruit tart featuring Tyvian pears, to give you the taste of home?"

"The taste of home," he repeated, smiling. "Sounds lovely, thank you."

"Anything to drink?"

"Ohhhh..." His smile faltered as he thought over the myriad options. "Water will be fine."

"I will take my usual coffee," Corvo said, "and a plantain and toasted flatbread, thank you."

Alys bowed again and headed into the kitchen to prepare their requests.

Corvo looked over at the Outsider. "In the Void, did you eat?"

"Of course not," he answered quietly.

"I didn't think so." They walked along to the broad dining table.

"Some devotees would offer fine fruits and meats and wines at the shrines they built. I was curious to try those things. But I couldn't. And the offerers weren't interesting people anyway." He sat down in a chair at the table's nearest corner and gestured with an open hand at Corvo. "Now, though, I have a most interesting person to dine with."

"I could say the same." Corvo sat at the chair round the corner from him, the closest he could be without actually sitting next to him, which would have appeared far too chummy and informal to any observers.

Another servant brought in a copy of the _Dunwall Courier_ , and Corvo introduced the Baron Ouri Taikov again. After pleasantries were exchanged and the servant had left, Corvo unfolded the paper and scanned the headlines. "Unrest in Morley again, huh."

The Outsider had his head leaned back and eyes closed. "There is always unrest in every region, in a small amount at least."

Corvo hummed and gave a small nod.

It was quiet for a bit, then the Outsider opened his eyes again. He was about to say something-

-but Corvo spoke first. "Now you no longer need to watch all the world's troubles."

"Yes, right." He fidgeted with his hands in his lap. "Everything keeps happening, though, whether I watch or not."

"That's the way life is. The world is too large; you have to focus on yourself and those around you." He folded the paper over to check out another section. "Oh look, you're mentioned."

The Outsider leaned around to catch a peek.

 _Lady Laroussi's Wanton Flesh!_ the headline screamed. It was a few paragraphs on the scandal of an aristocrat in Redmoor who'd been caught carousing with a young man and woman of the night. An Overseer familiar with the situation was quoted as saying, "The lure of the taboo is tempting to us all, but please, brothers and sisters, stay firm! This lure is the Outsider attempting to pull us to our doom as one pulls out a fish from the sea! Do not give him the satisfaction of biting his poison bait!"

The Outsider's mouth twisted. "They never stop their lies about me. Yes, I am a voyeur, but only to what people are doing of their own will." He pushed the paper away. "And their sex lives aren't even interesting most of the time."

Corvo nodded. "You know what? I bet a thousand coins they wouldn't even be printing this story if it was a man caught hiring a woman. Perhaps not even if it was a woman hiring just a man."

The Outsider had nothing further to add, so he just made a small noise of agreement, then put his head back and closed his eyes again. It was still so unusual, this body, with its warmth and weight. And Corvo's clothes felt unusual too, not like the old shadow-soft ones he'd formed from the Void and worn for ages and ages. Corvo's didn't feel _bad_ , no, just _different_. They didn't wrap around him as perfectly, because even though his body had grown and filled out some, it wasn't quite close enough to Corvo's thick muscular structure.

Resting his cheek in one hand, he looked over at Corvo, examining him unnoticed as he read through the Courier. His arms bore numerous faint scarlines, proof of his combative struggles through the years.

The Outsider pushed up a loose sleeve to glance at his own skin, so new and plain in comparison. "I'll have to learn to fight," he said, running a finger over the hairs on his forearm.

Corvo lowered his paper. "Have to?"

"I _ought_ to, if I don't have magic."

"Are you planning something?"

"No," he replied simply. "But if I don't have _magic_..." The reasoning was so obvious he couldn't even explain it.

"If you'd like, I can train you."

"That would be best," the Outsider said, still rubbing his arm.

"Is your arm all right?"

"Yes, it's fine. I'm just feeling it."

Corvo watched him, a little concerned.

The Outsider didn't notice the concern. Something pulled uncomfortably down in his gut, reminding him he was still hungry. He looked up to keep watch on the hallway for when Alys would return with the food. Not even three seconds later he was rewarded with footsteps coming their way, and then Alys appeared with a large platter.

Corvo laughed under his breath and said quietly, "It's almost like you summoned her! Maybe there's still a bit of magic in you!"

"Oh, coincidence."

Smiling brightly, Alys set down Corvo's modest meal first, and then the second plate, which Ouri's eyes had been drawn to since he spotted it. It held a glass of water next to a neat little pie slightly more than a handspan across, filled with colorful fruits shining in a milky cream substrate. "I hope you find it delicious, your Lordship."

He simply nodded.

"And here's your coffee, Lord Protector." She set down a steaming mug, and then a smaller cup filled with cream. "Call for me if you require anything else."

"I think we'll be quite fine; thank you very much Alys."

She bowed once again and left the room.

The Outsider had started to cut his tart in quarters, but he stopped when the intriguing scent of the coffee wafted over to him. He watched Corvo mix in the cream and take a sip.

After a moment's pause, Corvo asked, "Like to try some?" and set the mug beside the Outsider's plate.

The Outsider looked at it, at the way that the white cream swirls were fading and disappearing to a medium brown. He went to pick it up, not by the handle- he didn't trust his fumbling human hands to do that yet, they'd had enough trouble with the buttons and belt of his outfit- but around the full circumference of it. The mug was smooth except for one little divot, a chipped spot at the place underneath where the handle met the lip. He rubbed his finger up and down over the divot. It was an interesting feel.

Corvo saw the mug tremble in the Outsider's shaky grasp. "Steady," he warned quietly.

"Just _saying_ 'steady' doesn't help me," the Outsider said with a frown.

"Here, then." Corvo put his hand around the Outsider's to support his grip.

This was a startling sensation combo: the coffee warmth radiating to his hand from the inside and also now the rougher warmth of Corvo's hand on the outside. His pulse throbbed in his chest as, together, they guided the mug to his mouth.

It was hot, but not so hot he was burned; the cream had cooled it to a manageable degree. Still, it was a very intense experience, the heat and the taste flowing over his tongue for just those few moments before Corvo moved their hands to lower the cup again.

"How do you like it?"

The Outsider swallowed and ran his tongue over his teeth, getting a little more of the taste while he thought about how to answer. "Strong. Wondrous."

"It's nothing special, just standard Dunwall roast. But I'm glad you like it." Corvo smiled and took the mug back.

The Outsider watched Corvo's mouth touch to the same place as his own had. Corvo's lips were free of scarring, and he wondered how they felt to the touch.

Corvo looked at him over the top of the mug. "Should I have Alys make you a coffee the same as mine?"

The Outsider shook his head. "Mm. That's not necessary."

Corvo looked down at the untouched tart. "Eat, Ouri," he commanded. "I won't have you insult the chef's work by letting it sit."

"Yes, of course." The Outsider picked back up his fork and knife and carefully finished cutting the tart. Then he picked up a slice and took a bite. The pear slices sitting on top were thick and sweet, with a delightful texture to them. Underneath that there was a rich medley of other fruit that he couldn't identify from the taste alone. And then the crust, it was warm and soft, half-soaked with the cream and fruit juices.

The piece crumbled in his hand as he took the third bite, and fell to bits on the plate. He quickly took up his fork to collect the bits and swallow them.

"You seem to like it," Corvo said, smiling.

"It is good," the Outsider affirmed. He took a bite into a second slice, chewed it, wondering what fruit these little soft seeds were from. A fig, probably, but he wasn't completely sure.

"This afternoon, we should have you seen by a tailor," Corvo said. "It's a shame that your fine wardrobe was lost in the Ocean during the voyage from Tyvia."

"Quite a shame." The Outsider nodded, and swallowed another quick bite. "And all my coin went down to the depths as well."

Corvo chuckled. "Yes, your vast sums of coin from... what business? Whaling?"

The Outsider frowned. "Certainly not."

"Right, of course."

"Let us say... real estate. A much less cruel enterprise."

"And more fitting for a Baron's profession," Corvo agreed.

"Mm," the Outsider said, and returned his attention to the delicious tart.


	4. Pandyssian Rainforests

"He'll require two formal outfits suitable for attending court, and, let's say three of casualwear," Corvo told the tailor. The Outsider was a bit uncomfortable having to stand extremely still as he was measured, but the tailor's staff worked quick and that part was over soon. It took a bit longer for him to test the feel of every fabric on offer and make selections for which he wanted things made from. He chose merino wool for the most part, but also some hemp and linen. After that was finished, Corvo led the Outsider down the street to the shoemaker's shop, where it took a little over an hour to find ones that were acceptable.

"You're certainly picky enough to be a rich nobleman," Corvo said under his breath as they left the shoemaker's. "Perhaps you were actually one in your past life after all."

"I definitely wasn't. And I wasn't trying to be picky."

"All right, don't worry." Corvo shot him a little little smile. "So, _your Lordship_ -"

"You don't need to be so formal, _Lord Protector_ ," the Outsider said back, putting an equal spin on Corvo's title.

"Baron Taikov, then?"

"Just call me what I am. No-one else is nearby."

"Oh, but the winds have ears."

The Outsider scoffed at the idiom.

Corvo put a hand on the Outsider's shoulder. "As Royal Protector, it's my job to be cautious. You know this."

The Outsider sighed and kicked a stone that had come loose from the street cobbles.

Corvo took this as him dropping the subject, and took his hand off his shoulder as they continued walking. "So. What shall we do with the rest of the day? I am at your disposal."

"What of your other duties?"

"Well, Ouri Taikov is a visiting nobleman. Someone has to keep him safe, so for now, _you_ are my duty."

"Then teach me swordsmanship, so I can begin to keep myself safe," the Outsider said after only a beat.

"You're an eager student," Corvo said, smiling. "Let's head back to the tower, then."

They walked on, past scattered citizens in the streets. There was a middle-class couple taking an afternoon stroll, each carrying a bag with the grocer's mark on it. There was a group of factory-workers on break, engaged in a game of dice. There was a child sat on the steps of her apartment building with the family dog rested on her lap. There was a guard on patrol, boots and belt and pistol freshly shined, though the rest of his uniform was imbued with dust.

The Outsider looked at all of them, not staring, just taking glances, skimming over them to see what they were like, then soon moving to look somewhere else.

The guard nodded to Corvo and tipped his cap. "Good day, Lord Protector."

"Good day, Fuentes."

Fuentes glanced over at the man beside Corvo. "Special guest in town, I see."

"Hello, I-" The Outsider stopped abruptly when a drop of water hit his nose. He looked up automatically, and had to close his eyes as more drops fell towards him. "It's raining."

"Oh good, we need it," Fuentes said. "It's been too dry."

The Outsider spread out his arms as the shower began in earnest, raindrops falling rapidly and tingling pleasantly on his skin.

Corvo tugged on his arm. "Come on, you'll catch cold."

"Sh," he said. "I want to feel this for a moment, now."

Corvo looked to Fuentes. "...They haven't had much rain in his hometown either, lately," he said as a weak explanation. It didn't make sense, Tyvia was well-known as persistently cold and wet-

-but Fuentes somehow accepted it without question, and he nodded and walked on past, navigating underneath store awnings to escape the downpour.

Now that they were alone again, Corvo tugged the Outsider's arm more strongly. "You can feel it while we walk. Come on."

The Outsider hummed a disappointed tone.

Corvo let him go then, and moved to a nearby doorway out of the rainfall. "I'll wait. Just for a bit, though."

"You could go ahead, I won't get lost," the Outsider said with a little smug smile. "I know the streets of this town as well as you do."

Corvo snickered. "It'd look bad on me, though. Leaving the Baron unattended."

"Then wait if you wish." The Outsider hummed again, but cheerily this time, a low sound of enjoyment, meandering like a wordless rhyme. He closed his eyes and tipped his head back again, and ran fingers through his wet hair. "Do you know, there are places in Pandyssia where it rains like this every hour of every day?"

"Do tell," Corvo said, leaning back further into the doorway.

The Outsider didn't hear him over the splashing drops and his own enthusiasm. But he told anyway. "The rains sustain great trees, more massive than any tower in this Empire. And they feed deep rivers wherein swim marvelous creatures unseen by any human. Creatures that fight and fuck and dance just as dynamically as the soldiers and lovers and dancers you know." He flapped his hands before him, flicking drops out again and again and again. "They used to be hunted for their fur and their spines, but that was long ago, and now they live free, their pursuers long extinct."

"What are they called, these creatures?" Corvo called out through the rain.

The Outsider shook his head, running fingers through his hair again. "It can't be pronounced by humans."

Corvo chuckled at that for some reason.

The child and the dog they'd passed by earlier came scampering down the wet street, footsteps splashing. The dog stopped a moment to sniff at the Outsider's pants, and barked. The Outsider froze, and then hesitantly stroked the dog's head. The dog barked again, and his tongue lolled out.

"Rowdy, come on!" the child called, and the dog pulled away to follow her again.

The Outsider watched them run off. A thin smile lit across his face and he went over to stand by Corvo. "I had a dog. I think. Back all that time ago."

"Oh? What was their name?"

"I can't remember. Didn't even remember I had them until just now."

"Ah, that's all right. Maybe you'll remember more later." Corvo gestured for them to start walking back again. "I had a dog as a young boy in Karnaca."

The Outsider nodded. "Oh yes. Oscar."

"Right, silly me, forgot you already know everyone's life story."

The Outsider hummed melodiously again.


End file.
